Chapungu sculpture relocating to Zimbabwe

Standard People
Loveland, Colorado — This fall, Loveland resident Marcey Mushore will miss being surrounded by art on a daily basis when she and Roy Guthrie close the Chapungu Sculpture Warehouse and Gallery.

“The gallery and warehouse was a treat, not a part of the regular programme,” said Mushore, referring to the Chapungu Sculpture Park just east of The Promenade Shops at Centerra in east Loveland.

Mushore and Guthrie won’t be closing the sculpture park, which features 82 Zimbabwean stone sculptures.

“We are basically reorganising and focusing on what we normally do, which is to exhibit in botanic gardens,” said Mushore, vice-president of Chapungu Sculpture Park. “We will continue to work in the US and continue our botanic garden exhibits.”

Mushore and Guthrie are holding a Chapungu Blitz Moving Sale through September 16 at the warehouse and gallery on 1052 N Boise Ave. There are 15 000 sculptures on display and in storage that have been created by 300 to 400 sculptors from Zimbabwe.

“The warehouse and gallery has been useful to illustrate further the beautiful sculptures we are promoting from Zimbabwe,” Mushore said.

Once the sale is over, Mushore and Guthrie will pack up the remaining pieces to put into storage for their next exhibition, which is under discussion for the next year, said Guthrie, who founded the sculpture park, in an email he sent to family and friends on August 17.

He and Mushore expect to close the warehouse and gallery on October 1, he said.

“Marcey and I feel we should go back to our original way, which is to base our family in Zimbabwe, resuscitate Chapungu Sculpture Park in Harare, Zimbabwe, and continue working with the botanic garden exhibits,” Guthrie said in the email.

The Chapungu Heritage Trust has a 35-year partnership with the Centerra Metropolitan District to display the sculptures on the grounds of the park, which is owned by the district, said Jay Hardy, general manager of Centerra. The sculpture park was dedicated in November 2006, he said.

Centerra hosts events at the sculpture park every year, including concerts, wine tastings, fundraisers and weddings, Hardy said.

“It has done a great job of providing an outdoor event venue at Centerra that we didn’t have and needed,” he said. —Loveland Reporter-Herald